. . . Thomas Quasthoff -- best known for his masterly, booming versions of Schubert lieder, Mahler songs and Bach cantatas . . . There is none of the grim rigidity associated with the classical singer -- instead, Quastoff glides through a selection of showtunes and standards with a relaxed sense of swing, and a soft American accent that recalls, variously, Lou Rawls, Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole . . . he is one of the world's most in-demand bassbaritones . . .

Interview /
John Lewis,
The Guardian (London) / 03. October 2007

Thomas Quasthoff apparently does not accept the notion of being out of his element, in life or in music. Simply put, he made the songs his own, with enough of a stylistic debt to some of the great jazz singers like Johnny Harman. . . Billy Eckstine, Ella Fitzgerald, even singers like Bobby McFerrin and Stevie Wonder. Quasthoff knows his stuff, and it was immediately apparent that he was not visiting these songs, but that he had lived them . . . The man can sing! He did his homework, that¿s for sure. Stylistically, rhythmically, melodically, he covered it all with nuance and perfection . . . My respect for Thomas Quasthoff is over-the-top . . . Quasthoff has given me a whole new hope for the world and music.

Miscellaneous /
Peter Erskine,
Rhythm / 01. April 2007

Mr. Quasthoff's interpretations of the great masters from Bach to Schubert, Schumann, Brahms and Mahler are widely regarded as modern touchstones of the art. And with the release this month of his new CD, "The Jazz Album: Watch What Happens" (Deutsche Grammophon), this other facet of his artistry is revealed in all its laid-back wit. Watch what happens, indeed! . . . The marvel is that Mr. Quasthoff's jazz singing is not just at the stylistic antipodes from his Lieder singing, but idiomatically so right. With impeccable timing and phrasing, he insouciantly tosses off these songs, leaning into just the right notes of each phrase.

With this collection of American standards, Thomas Quasthoff proves that good singing is good singing, and it takes only stylistic integrity, relaxed diction and a willingness to let go of operatic mannerisms for a classical singer to be convincing in this genre . . . this is a fully credible album of jazz standards, without qualification . . . Quasthoff clearly loves these songs, and partly because they are ordered to reflect his personal journey . . . but also because he's so willing to reveal himself, the songs sound amazingly fresh . . . But the main attraction is definitely Quasthoff. Nothing in his diction betrays him as a native German-speaker . . . He effortlessly bends his voice to the mood and style of each song, and he isn't above straight-toning, growling or riffing as the occasion demands. His voice is light and youthful in the Sammy Fain tune "Secret Love", . . . He often evokes Lou Rawls in his lower register, with a rounded duskiness that suggests it's last call at the bar . . . It also features superlative jazz-trumpet playing from Till Brönner, who produced the recording. Quasthoff's rendition of Charlie Chaplin's "Modern Times" theme, "Smile", is haunting and unforgettable, with another flawless solo by Brönner. Quasthoff fans will want to snap this up, but so should anyone looking for great interpretations of jazz standards. This is an outstanding and revelatory performance by an already awe-inspiring talent.

. . . the embarrassment factor that usually bedevils such projects is absent. Quasthoff's love and, more important, understanding of the material is clear. This album is . . . for people who admire Quasthoff's marvellous voice and want to hear him in tasteful, well-wrought interpretations of outstanding songs.

Quasthoff is a renowned bass-baritone best known for performances of the song cycles of Schubert and Strauss. But he has long been a closet jazz vocalist and this . . . occasionally beguiling CD (with band and strings) is his debut in that genre. His rich, sonorous voice brings something new to songs routinely covered by crooners . . .

Record Review /
AK,
Scot on Sunday / 22. July 2007

Quasthoff insists that when he sings jazz, "It sounds like jazz, not like classical music in the guise of jazz". And, as demonstrated throughout the dozen tracks that fill "Watch What Happens", he¿s right . . . Quasthoff¿s jazz style suggests the artistry of Johnny Hartman crossed with the play-to-the-balcony power and glory of Broadway¿s Brian Stokes Mitchell. Quasthoff¿s intense comfort within the jazz idiom is . . . further heightened by the presence of renowned German trumpeter Till Brönner as producer and accompanist . . . superb arrangements by Nan Schwartz, Broadbent and others . . .

Thomas Quasthoff“Watch What Happens" - The Jazz Album

It is not often in the world of art that something completely new comes along, something that has never previously existed in this form. In music, especially, all limits seem to have been exhausted long ago. More than other genres, this particular art form has shown an increasing tendency to degenerate to the level of an accessory. From classical music to techno, rapid consumability, collectibility and exchangeability have now become indications of quality. Records function like shares, rising and falling in the charts. Not many musicians have the stature to break out of this vicious circle and, by presenting new artistic ideas and forms, to create a counterpoint of lasting value.

A CD like Thomas Quasthoff's jazz album does not come about overnight. Nor is it the result of a month's or even six months' work. Rather, it represents the culmination of a process that stretches back over a period of several years and starts with the artist defining his or her own personal position. Quasthoff has always felt a close affinity with jazz, and yet he first had to answer his own question as to what he could express through jazz that had not previously been conveyed in this form. Why else would he want to record a jazz album?

Much has been said and written about Thomas Quasthoff's life. His is a personal and artistic “Passion" story that gives many people incredible strength because it has a happy ending. Here is an artist who refuses to accept ostensible limitations, transcending them and achieving international recognition. The present CD offers twofold proof of his unbridled vitality, for not only does Quasthoff once again cross an arbitrarily imposed demarcation line between genres, but he also retells his own life from a new and different perspective. All the songs included in the present release are closely related to his own experiences and points of view. It is well worth our while, not just to abandon ourselves to this unique voice in its new surroundings of a jazz band and jazz orchestra, but also to observe how he interprets the words to give tangible form to the narrative that this album recounts.

Is this jazz album really a jazz album? The very term “jazz" has given rise to such lively debate since the 1950s that no one-dimensional answer is possible. Quasthoff, the producer Till Brönner, the arranger Alan Broadbent and all the others involved in this release are far too concerned with the music as such to seek a simplistic answer. Over-hasty attempts to pigeon-hole this recording is left to others. Here are two musicians who prefer to set their own standards rather than heed conventions and vague terminologies.

Thomas Quasthoff is one of the best-known bass-baritones currently before the public, while Till Brönner is one of the most celebrated jazz trumpeters outside the United States. The chemistry between these two musicians alone produces countless links reflecting the expectations of their respective fans. And yet anyone who has taken a detailed interest in their two careers also knows that their success as artists rests on the fact that they have both sought repeatedly to open up new horizons.

“Whenever I sing jazz," Quasthoff insists, “it sounds like jazz, not like classical music in the guise of jazz." His voice is not conjuring up the song cycles of Schubert or Strauss. Quasthoff remains entirely himself. He can be recognized in every single note that he sings. Precisely because he takes jazz seriously without attempting to imitate the great vocalists of jazz history, and because he explores vocal territory in which classical audiences are not used to hearing him, he does justice to the view of jazz allowing a maximum of personal freedom. Jazz purists may complain that this recording lacks an element of improvisation, but does improvisation really consist in no more than a sequence of solo digressions and outbursts? Or is it not, rather, the expression of a spontaneous ability to make the most of each element in the artistic process, whether it be notes, words or harmonies? This recording contains an incredible amount of jazz without falling unconditionally into the parameters of a conventional jazz album.

The album derives its sense of excitement not least from the contrast between the distinct personalities of Thomas Quasthoff and Till Brönner, and yet these differences generally find expression in tiny interchanges whose impact is thus all the greater. Both artists are perfectionists, both are obsessed with the sheer beauty of the sounds they produce. And yet these qualities mesh at completely different points. Both men work on the smallest detail until it is fully in place. For Brönner it is far from easy to provide a channel for Quasthoff's virtually boundless range of expression, while Quasthoff, for his part, enjoys responding to each bar in turn and making an entirely new contribution to a song or sequence, or even to a word or individual sound. Every shift of colour, however slight, opens up a whole series of new perspectives - all the more so in that the semantic and conceptual meanings of a number stem less from the sung word itself than from the patina that overlays Quasthoff's intonation.

None of the songs contained in the present release was specially written for this context, and yet the way in which they have been put together by Quasthoff and Brönner attests to a very real wealth of invention on the part of the project's two protagonists. In their complexity and their integration these songs constitute an entirely new work of art, a self-contained song cycle that is both intoxicatingly beautiful and unbearably intense.